Urrutia signs with Hardin-Simmons

Editor’s Note: This is the second in a four-part series featuring each of the four San Marcos High School football signees.

It had been one year since senior Gabe Urrutia made a promise to himself when he sat in the seats of the San Marcos auditorium.

The three-year varsity defensive lineman watched, as a junior, the senior class ahead of him sign their letters of intent and make the decision to continue an academic and athletic career at the next level.

“Having my teammates in the seats was special,” Urrutia said. “I was in that seat last year when this was happening. Last year I told myself I was going to be up here. I put in the hard work and believed in myself and what I could do. And I made it.”

One year later, Urrutia stayed true to his promise and signed to play football at Hardin-Simmons with both an athletic and academic scholarship on National Signing Day.

Head coach and athletic director Mark Soto praised Urrutia’s commitment and hard work inside the classroom. The work put into his studies paid off with a 3.8 GPA and a fair amount of academic scholarship money that will go towards his tuition.

“For Gabe, he’s one of our hardest workers,” Soto said. “Not only in the weight room but also in the classroom. That’s proven by the scholarship offer that he got. It was based on his academics and he’s going to be able to play football at the next level. I think he landed at a place that is great for him and it will move him forward.”

As special as signing day was, this moment was something Urrutia had been dreaming of since playing football at the CFPO (youth football) level. His father, Paul, spoke on how huge of a blessing this moment was to see the hard work over the years to payoff.

“It’s really special,” Paul Urrutia said. “But for them to do all the hard work and watching them from CFPO to now is, you know, it’s something. It’s a blessing. To have them go to the next level and hopefully (the four seniors) do well.”

Urrutia’s performance on and off the field opened a lot of opportunities for defensive lineman. He had interest from other schools such as Texas Lutheran University but after a visit to Abilene, the senior knew he’d found a home with the Cowboys.

“It’s a dream come true,” Urrutia said. “I mean I've been wanting to do this since I was playing CFPO (youth football). I’m glad to see it finally come to life. The coaching staff, I liked the vibe (at Hardin Simmons). I had only met them and it felt like home.”

Most Recent Poll

A preferred scenario amendment to allow a nearly 7-acre development on Peques Street, off of Sessom, went before the Planning and Zoning Commission Tuesday night.

Doucet and Associates requested a zoning change for the 6.73 acres from Single Family (SF-6), which is meant to allow single-family detached houses with minimum lot sizes of 6,000 square feet, to T5 SmartCode, which accommodates higher density mixed-use developments including retail, offices, rowhouses and apartments.

According to the packet from Austin-based student housing developer Core Spaces, the highintensity development would be a five-story building with 703 beds and hundreds of parking spaces.

According to the city, it would be the only high-intensity development in the area. Commissioners expressed concern with the already dense traffic along Sessom and the potential environmental effects of the project – noting that construction would involve a lot of grading and disruption to the hillside and laying more concrete could cause more runoff from that development.

Yes, it would add more housing to the area.

No, the area presents too many potential traffic, environmental and neighborhood issues.